India vs SA: KL Rahul becomes 3rd player to achieve THIS record by leading India in ODIs

KL Rahul was handed the captaincy for the three-match ODI series after newly-appointed skipper Rohit Sharma wasn’t fit for the series.

KL Rahul (right) with South Africa's Temba Bavuma during the toss for the first ODI. (Source: Twitter)

Stand-in skipper KL Rahul, who is leading India in the ongoing first ODI against South Africa, has become only the third player to lead his country in 50 overs game without having captained in List A cricket previously. The other two India players, who achieved this rare feat are wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani and former India opener Virender Sehwag.

Rahul was handed the captaincy for the three-match ODI series after newly-appointed skipper Rohit Sharma wasn’t fit for the series and the selectors had decided to move on from Virat Kohli, after he had resigned as the T20 captain. KL Rahul, who hails from Karnataka, is also captaining India for the first time in his 39th ODI and the last time a player led the country before playing 50 ODIs was Mohinder Amarnath in October 1984.

It was ‘Jimmy’ Amarnath’s 35th ODI, when he captained the side. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bat first in the first ODI. Madhya Pradesh and Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer made his ODI debut.

Go well, Venkatesh Iyer #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/IIo5jVR5h6 — BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2022

“As a team we’re ready to do both things. We have some quality spinners in our attack, and with (Jasprit) Bumrah and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) starting, if we can get a couple of wickets early we can put some pressure on them,” Rahul said at the toss.

Vice-captain Bumrah lived up to his skipper Rahul’s words as he dismissed SA opener Janneman Malan early. Malan got a slight edge through to keeper Rishabh Pant in Bumrah’s third over to be dismissed for 6 off 10 balls.

(with PTI inputs)